Dark
by Metal Rules
Summary: MOVIECOMIC VERSE.Peter experiences the worst personal tradegy in his life.Can he love again?Should he love again?What do some shady characters have planned for him?A gritty Spider fan-fic with newold characters RATED R for violence,sex,swearing content
1. The calm before the storm

Hi, just a story that has been floating around in my head for some time. Hope you like. All reviews and opinions, good or bad, are most welcome.

And no I don't own anything to do with Spiderman etc etc. I'm just writing for my own enjoyment. Thanks.

The sun shone with fierce intensity in the aqua, blue sky. For ten-thirty in the morning it was very hot, pushing just past thirty degrees centigrade. When the weather was like this, it offset Forest Hills, Queens, beautifully. It was a pleasant area to live in, mostly populated by working class families and the elderly. The picturesque homes with their well-maintained gardens gave a warm sense of safety to the area. Peter loved living in this area. It certainly made him feel safe and secure. It was here where he grew up. It held many fond memories for him. One he could recall, was making a kite with his Uncle Ben when he was seven years old. They had taken it to a nearby park to give it a test flight. Peter, being clumsy as he was back then, lost control of it and it crashed and broke into many pieces. He remembered he cried for hours on end. Not even his favourite chocolate milkshake that Aunt May made could cheer him up. It wasn't until early in the evening that Uncle Ben came up to his room with the kite repaired. The tears stopped immediately. It was at this point that Peter felt his safest. Knowing that his beloved Uncle Ben was always going to be there made him feel all right. Peter perhaps neglected this in his future years which made it all that more painful when his Uncle was unexpectedly taken from him in such a cruel and harsh manner. It was a pity he would be leaving it in a few months for good. Well, maybe not for good. He would visit frequently although it did bother him a little that he was leaving his Aunt May alone. She assured him, perhaps overly so, that she would be okay. She was a strong person and Peter admired that greatly. She was the strongest person he knew.

As he stepped out of his aunt's home, he deep breath of fresh air.

"You take it easy now dear," said Aunt May as she came to the door to see him. The light shone gracefully on her face. It was a face of happiness with tell-tale creases of old age and experience in life.

"Will do Aunt May," he said with smile.

"And give my love to your fiancé too," she said as he walked down the porch steps.

"No problem. I'll see you tonight." He gave a small wave goodbye and walked along the street to get a bus.

Fiancée

What a great word he thought. Especially when he could put that would together with the name of Mary Jane Watson. The girl he had always loved was his fiancée. After all the trouble they had been through together, mainly because of Peter surpressing his Spiderman identity, they were finally together. He was very lucky though. Only a few months ago, Mary Jane declared she was leaving New York because she couldn't handle the confusion of their relationship anymore. Peter, not wanting to lose her summoned up all his inner strength and frustration and blurted out his secret. Her response shocked him. Instead of telling him that she felt betrayed and hurt that he couldn't tell her his biggest secret, she said she knew all along. It was all she wanted from him – to tell her. It was the one thing she needed of him before their relationship went any further. Needless to say, his confession stopped her from leaving. After working on their relationship for a few months and dealing with the consequences of his alt-ego, he took the plunge and asked her to marry him. They had now been engaged for thress months and Peter was on his way to her apartment to discuss plans for getting an apartment together and their wedding ideas. They didn't have a lot of money but were determined to make the best out what they had.

Reaching the bus stop he waited for the bus to arrive. He could have webslinged his way to M.J's apartment but just every now and then he like to do things normally.

M.J. was rushing around and tidying up old magazines and giving the apartment a general tidy all for the sake of Peter's immanent arrival. Even though he was hers for keeps and he would have her whatever state she was in, she still liked to make the effort. Realising she had a few minutes to kill, she sat down and picked up her photo album she was collating. It was her treasure trove of platinum memories.

Although a lot of people M.J. knew, Peter especially, said they had their special memories in their heads; M.J. always cherished the thought of having a visual keepsake to help her remember the good times. Peter did have a point though; some good memories shouldn't be captured on film, especially the sessions they had spent in bed together! That was for their thoughts only!

The first page of the album was pictures of her as a baby. They were pictures she hadn't shown anyone, not even Peter. She wanted to show him though, but after the photo album was finished. Turning the page she came across more pictures of her, when she was in the school plays. Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. She always had lead roles in them. It was only a pity she couldn't say the same about her career now. Although she was on the verge of breaking the fashion and acting world, it was taking a lot longer than she thought. It was also a lot harder.

Turning the page again she came to graduation. She was so proud of herself for accomplishing that, especially with all the trouble and turmoil on the home front. Her Dad being a drunken, violent slob and her downtrodden mum wasn't the best springboard for her life in education. She kept in contact barely with her mum and was inviting her and her sister Gayle to the wedding. She hoped it would maybe straighten a few things out between them.

Moving on in the album she came across a variety of pictures of friends and loved ones and then to her husband-to-be. Gorgeous she thought. She couldn't understand why she hadn't seen it sooner but back then she was pretentious. The cool girl who never looked twice at the "well-mannered, smart, nerdy but nice guy" type. She felt a bit guilty about her former self but was happy about who she was now. Looking over the pictures of Peter one caught her eye in particular. It was a picture of him on a college boat trip or 'booze cruise' as it was more popularly know. He was dressed all in black with with his shirt unbuttoned. His attire gave the sense of mystery about him. That coincided well with his Spiderman alter ego she thought. Harry had taken the photo and she had to literally beg him to let her have it. He was always going to give it to her but he like to playfully tease. As she held it aloft she strained her eyes as she noticed that the sun shining on it revealed there was something written on the back of it. She turned it over to discover a message from Peter. She hadn't seen it before and went on to read: -

"Dear M.J,

Hey darling. I know how much you appreciate little mementoes and keepsakes so I thought I'd offer you one of my own. I love you so much. I will always be here for you, no matter what.

I love you always,

Peter

xxx

The biggest smile crept upon her face. If she could have a smile from ear to ear she would have it.

"Always full of surprising my man."

She thought she would do the same for him in return. She took out what Peter had always said was "the most gorgeous picture" he had ever seen of her. She had just finished writing it and putting it back in the album for him to "discover" one day when Peter came through the door.

"Hey babe," he said.

"Hey you," she replied greeting him with a kiss. "I was thinking, do you fancy going out for an early lunch before we get started on our plans?"

"Yeah, sure." She had read his mind, as he hadn't any breakfast.

Within five minutes they were on the street, hand in hand walking to their favourite diner.

"You know I could always web-sling out downtown and pick up a pizza y'know and we could stay in," Peter suggested with a wry smile. Mary Jane knew what was on his mind and decided to toy with him a little.

"How about we stick to the plan Mister," she said noticing his face fall. "And when we get back you can have dessert!"

They both smiled in unison.

"I'll keep you to that Miss Watson." He went to kiss her when his mobile phone went off. He didn't like using them but M.J. had got him one so she could get in touch with him when she was away on a modelling shoot.

"Hello?"

Pause. Mary Jane saw the frown marks crease his forehead and his eyebrows closed in. Something was wrong.

"When?"

His eyes began to glaze over with the beginnings of salty tears.

"Of course. I'm on my way. Yeah, bye."

The shortest and most poignant conversation in his life.

"What is it?" enquired Mary Jane, fearing the worst.

She feared right.

"It's Aunt May. She's been taken to hospital. She was found unconscious just outside the house." The sense of urgency and emotion in Peter's voices sent the coldest of chills down her spine. She had never heard his voice quake the way it did before. She couldn't help but let out a gasp of distress herself.

"Oh no Pete. How is she now? Is she awake?"

"No, still unconscious"

"Let's get to the hospital yeah?"

"Yeah but, could you meet me there? I'm going to go by other means," said Peter. She knew what he meant. As Spiderman he would definitely get there quicker.

"Yes, sure," she said as she pulled his face hurriedly to hers to give him a reassuring kiss. "It will be alright okay?"

"Yeah," said Peter unconvincingly. One more hug and then he went shooting down an alley getting into his Spiderman costume. Mary Jane went to cross the road to hail a taxi. She really hoped everything would be okay. Sadly she was never to find out.

It was the last time they spoke to each other.


	2. Llightning strikes twice

Thanks for the reviews. Much appreciated. I hope I maintain the standard that makes you want to keep reading. Thanks.

As always any reviews, questions and pointers are greatly welcomed.

Oh and no I don't own anything to do with Spiderman!

3 months later.

"Just what do you think you were doing Mr. Parker?"

The voice echoed in Peter's head. He looked up from the wooden table in the cold, dark and metallic room. The atmosphere was thick with anger, hate and aggression, perhaps left behind by the room's previous inhabitants. Did everyone feel this way when they were trapped here? Is anger, hate and aggression what you always feel when you are arrested?

Peter Benjamin Parker; the nice boy next door had been arrested. What a funny notion. You wouldn't have read that in my school year book he thought!

Peter Parker: Massive troublemaker, violent tendencies, rude, under achiever.

Most likely profession: Thug

No he was quite the opposite. He could recall exactly what was written in his yearbook. He had read it over again, at first in a sense of achievement, which slowly turned into boredom. He had nothing better to read when barely anyone had signed personal messages of farewell in it.

Peter Parker: Intelligent and well presented young man. Top in science for the past four years. Expect big things from him.

Most likely profession: Physicist, Nobel Prize winner.

But that was then and this was now. In previous altercations with the police he had managed to avoid capture as he was in his Spiderman gear. Today though he couldn't. He was plain civilian Peter Parker. He had neglected to put his costume on when he went out, as he had plenty of other things on his mind, ever since Aunt May and Mary Jane who...

It pained him to keep thinking it. Those thoughts riled him over and over again to the point of agony. Why?

"Well, Mr Parker? asked Sgt. Johnston of NYPD. His voice broke Peter's train of thought in half and out came spewing was the situation he was in. "He may press charges you know?"

"I know," said Peter finally breaking his silence." I just wanted to help that's all."

"Help? You managed to get their belongings back but you broke that scumbags nose and cracked a couple of ribs.

He hated to admit it, but he had lost his cool in a bad way. He was on his way back from handing in a few so-so pictures to the Bugle when he witnessed a middle-aged couple being mugged. He was never one to not help anyone and so rushed over to assist. With or without his Spider-costume he still had abilities to help people. Unfortunately his over eagerness coupled with his frustration of the past couple of months events made him lose control when tackling the thug. He could have taken him out with a quarter of his strength but instead he almost went the full hog on him, as if he was fighting the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Unfortunately for Peter he was caught in the act by the police in a patrol car. They had no choice but to arrest the thug and Peter.

"So you just expect me to stand around and do nothing to help," Peter insisted, trying to justify his actions.

"No, and you know I'm not saying that. I asking you to realise that when something's done, it's done. You're as bad as them if you don't know how to control your aggression son."

Peter's face fell. He knew he had done wrong. He regretting snapping but...

A knock on the interview room door.

In the room came a colleague of Sgt. Johnston. He pulled him aside and quietly spoke a few words and then left the room a minute or two later. Peter wondered what it was all about and was about to be answered without even asking.

"I understand you've had a few problems recently. I'm very sorry to hear about your lost Peter."

Peter hated the way he used his first name. It was if he was trying to be more relaxed and personal with him and trying to understand what he felt like.

Nobody knew what he felt like.

He had kept it all bottled up inside, but inadvertently released some of that feeling tonight.

"Don't please," said Peter not wanting him to go any further. He knew sympathy was coming and truth be known, he was damn right sick of it.

"Okay Peter look," his voice changed tone to one of ease. "I'm going to let you off on this okay. I know you were only doing what you thought was right. I would probably have done something similar if I was in you position, but please keep you anger in check. I don't want to be hauling your ass in here one day for something else. Understood?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, thank you"

As Peter walked down the police station corridor he saw the couple he had helped out. Feeling guilty for his overly violent actions he went to apologise.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," said the male a bit gingerly. Peter could tell he was still shaken up from the ordeal, whether it was because of the mugging or of his violent actions he couldn't tell. He had his suspicions.

"I'm sorry for my actions," he declared. "I hope you are okay and your possessions aren't damaged."

"Thank you," spoke the woman. "Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem," he said and went to stick out his hand to shake hers. Both the couple flinched.

Ouch. He knew why. He hadn't realised just how awkward and unnerving them seeing him let loose must have been. He didn't know how to take it.

"Umm... okay," was all he could muster as he walked by them out of the station.

Had it really come to this? Was he so over come with angst and sadness that he had become someone for people to fear? Puny Parker? He continued to walk along the street until he came to a bench where he promptly seated himself. The flickering light of the lamppost next to it brought him in and out of illumination. Peter leaned back and arched his neck. He didn't like who he was at the moment. People had been sympathetic to him and had tried to help. Betty, Robbie, Jill, Harry. Even J Jonah Jameson and Flash Thompson! He couldn't understand it. He always felt he was a strong person, but it dawned on him he wasn't as much as he thought so. He knew he had to get out of this rut somehow. But not tonight. His eyes cast a spell of tears as grief took him once more.

Aunt May was dead.

Mary Jane was in a coma.

That day back in August was harsh to say the least. Fate liked to play wicked games and it did this day. As the saying goes – Lightning always strikes twice. But in no way didn't Peter expect the two biggest thunderbolts to come crashing down around him. As soon as he had heard Aunt May was rushed to the hospital, he left M.J. and went as fast as he could throughout the city as Spiderman, so to speak. To save time he just whipped on his mask and was on his way. His swinging was so erratic and his jumping lacked his usual finesse but he didn't care. As long as he got to Aunt May a soon as possible. He wasn't going to lose her. He wouldn't. He couldn't bare the thought of losing both her an Uncle Ben. Within ten minutes he was there rushing through the hospital entrance and towards Aunt May's room. As he turned into it there was no one there but a doctor about to walk out removing her stethoscope.

"Can I help you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, my aunt, May Parker. Do you know where she is? I got call from a nurse saying she had been found collapsed and bought in."

"I'm sorry...," she paused not knowing what to call him.

"Peter."

"Would you like to take seat?" indicating to two seats by the rooms entrance. He complied even though his mind began to fill with dread.

"There is no easy way of saying this Peter, but your Aunt May is... dead."

A glacier of ice swept over Peter's body as he took the news in. Dead. His head started to shake. "No, no, how, what?"

"Just age I'm afraid. Time has a horrible way of catching up with us. It was peaceful and she wasn't in pain. We did everything we could but it was just her time. I'm sorry."

Tears began to show in his eyes. "I think I'd like to be left alone now if that's okay?" his voice trembling with sadness.

"Sure Peter, just ask for Dr. Kochanski when you're ready to speak some more." She left the room quietly shutting the door behind her making sure Peter wouldn't be disturbed. As soon as it shut the tears trickled and then poured. His aunt, his mother for so many years, dead. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. He would never get the chance to tell her how much he appreciated what she had done for him. As soon as the tears started to subside his fiancée came to mind. He realised he had better get in contact and left the room with his face hung low. He went to reach for his mobile phone but realised they weren't allowed to be used within the hospital. So he reached the nearest payphone in the hospital and dialled her number.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

He then realised he could hear the ring coupled with her ring-tone, Summer Loving from Grease, her favourite musical. He turned around expecting to see her behind him. He was almost knocked off his feet as two ambulance medics and a couple of Doctors where pushing along an injured person on a medical bed. To his horror he realised the ringing was coming from the person on the bed. He dropped the phone and caught up with the injured party. He could just make out M.J.'s red hair throughout all the bandages and people around her.

"Oh my God, Mary Jane. MARY JANE!" He started to push the bed along with the medics and doctors.

"Who are you?" asked one of them.

"I'm her fiancé," he quickly fired back. "Peter Parker. How is she, what happened?"

"She's stable at the moment Mr. Parker. As far as we know she was run over as she went to hail a taxi. We will let you know more as soon as we do," the Doctor said realising they were almost at the entrance to the ER As they went in, Peter stood helpless and overcome with grief and turmoil. His statue- like posture could tell a thousand heart felt words.

Lighting struck twice.

It was another hour and half before a doctor came to see him to let him know she was stable but in a coma, for how long they didn't know. Three months later she was still in it and Peter was grief ridden and not to mention riddled with guilt for leaving M.J. when he went to see Aunt May. Now, as he sat on the bench his memories haunted him as he clung to the hope M.J. would come out of the coma. He lost one of his rocks and he was determined not to lose the other.


End file.
